


all these words and promises we couldn’t keep.

by serenitysea



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, happiness, ot4 reunited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 09:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenitysea/pseuds/serenitysea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>aka: <i>the one where we see the original four make their way back to each other through rose ward’s eyes.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	all these words and promises we couldn’t keep.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleeplessmiles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeplessmiles/gifts).



> for sarahj who is BEASTING it through this uni season and has exams to finish before she is FREE AT LAST. i love you sis.

Rose watches her brother, sometimes. 

The way he _oh so carefully_ orbits Skye like she’s the Sun and he can’t draw away but he doesn’t dare to get closer. How he walks the razor edged line of tempered confidence and muted apology. 

Like he’s stuck between two different versions of himself – which simply doesn’t add up.

He’s always been cocksure and steady. He doesn’t falter. That’s what makes him her beloved (if somewhat _annoying_ ) older brother.

This is a Grant she’s never seen before. 

It fascinates her. 

*

Ward has been tiptoeing around her for the past week. 

It wouldn’t be that big of a deal – and the Skye of long ago would probably get a kick out of it – but they have a mission to handle in a few hours and she’s worried they aren’t going to be able to pull it off. 

(Turns out she needn’t have worried.)

(Ward always did best when he was slipping into someone else’s skin.)

*

Their cover is blown.

Because _of course_ their cover gets blown. Of course something goes wrong. Why the hell would the universe _ever_ give them a win?

“What was that about the Universe?” Ward takes a moment from where he is flattened against the wall to glance at her and Skye realises her internal monologue hasn’t been that internal at all. “You okay?”

Gunfire erupts in a steady stream, effectively ending that line of conversation. 

“Just peachy,” Skye mutters, throwing up a barrier against any stray bullets that come their way while Ward jacks open the nearest window and gestures impatiently for her to dive out first. 

Never let it be said that Grant Douglas Ward doesn’t know how to show a lady a good time.

Ward chokes in audible disbelief from where he is poised to climb down after her – _dammit_ _why does she keep **doing** that? _ – and suddenly Skye becomes fully aware of the stinging sensation in her arm that has been nagging at the back of her mind for the past few minutes. There is a tiny dart protruding just below right shoulder. 

So that probably accounts for the way she’s been rambling aloud all of her inside thoughts. 

The last thing she sees before she loses consciousness is a truly panicked look on Ward’s face. 

*

Rose hasn’t been on the base very long but she does know that Jemma Simmons’ ability to command a room and take stock of a situation is both awe-inspiring and even a little frightening. 

(She doesn’t know entirely what to make of it when Fitz nudges her and stares admiringly at Jemma. Obviously they’re in love and yes, Jemma is a beautiful woman but honestly, there are bigger matters at hand here.)

(She takes a closer look at the heart eyes Fitz has and decides that, for all that he is a brilliant engineer and probably one of the brightest minds of their time – he goes to absolute crap when Jemma is in her element.)

(It’s not the worst thing.)

(Honestly it’s a bit adorable.)

So when Ward brings Skye back from the mission, yelling loudly at anyone who tries to take her away from him and refuses to yield until he stands before Jemma with barely leashed emotions, Rose finds highly interesting _not_ that he defers to the tiny doctor – but that he affords her an incredible deal of respect in allowing her to see the anxiety and tension etched into his face. That he doesn’t wipe it clean or even _think_ of pulling it together until Jemma places a hand on his arm and squeezes briefly in reassurance, gesturing which bed she needs Skye laid upon so that they can assess and get her back to recovery. 

Fitz walks up to slap a gentle hand on Ward’s back once he’s placed Skye down and Rose learns from the slight stiffening of his shoulders that there is more than one person her brother has been attempting to make amends with. 

Ward meets the other man’s eyes with a steady nod and Fitz tells him that there’s a beer in the kitchen with his name on it. 

(And so there’s more than one person trying to make amends with her brother, as well.)

*

Skye comes out of it in fits and spurts. 

Rose takes to reading in Skye’s room so that she can alleviate some of the pressure Jemma is under while monitoring such a prominent case as Skye’s. In any event, it’s a quiet place for her to try and make sense of the people she’s been around for the past few weeks and not have to worry about being bothered in the meantime. 

Skye claims to be fine but there is no mistaking the shadowed worry in the back of her eyes or the way she seems to visibly struggle for control when Ward steps into the room.

“You look better,” he remarks from where he stands in the doorway. He doesn’t come any closer. 

“This seems disturbingly familiar,” Skye rolls her eyes, pushing up from the bed into a sitting position. “Next thing I know you’ll be telling me that I look better than when I was dying.”

Despite the bite and audacity of the response, when Rose lifts her head, she sees her brother’s lips curve slightly in a smile. She has to fight to keep her jaw from dropping when he finally responds: “There was no chance of you dying when you had me to watch your back.” 

Somehow – against all odds – Skye’s cheeks pinken and a bit of sparkle comes into her eyes. “Get out of here before the warden accuses you of disturbing the patient.”

“Wouldn’t want that,” Ward comes just shy of conspiratorially winking at the girls and leaves without further comment. 

Skye brushes absently at the bandage on her arm and stares at the empty hallway, deep in thought. 

(Rose doesn’t have the heart to ask her what the hell is going on.)

*

It’s nearing 3 AM and she can’t sleep. 

Rose follows the raucous laughter that echoes down the hallway and tiptoes to where the TV can be heard blaring. If she peeks carefully, she can make out Ward’s dark hair and the wild gesturing can belong to none other than Fitz. 

“The world is crashing down around us every day. So I’m just saying – a wise man once told me; if you love her, you should tell her before it’s too late.” 

Ward freezes from his position where he is getting up from the couch and sighs quietly. “It _is_ too late.”

“You can’t be serious.” Fitz pops up, nearly upsetting the row of empty bottles lined along the edge of the table. “The Grant Ward I knew wouldn’t give up that easily. He could shoot the legs off a flea from 500 yards and –”

“– The Grant Ward you knew didn’t exist,” Ward says firmly. “It’s best if we all remember that.”

She has to duck out of view and into a nearby room so that he doesn’t discover her when he comes walking out but once he’s left, Rose is able to catch a glimpse of the determined look Fitz has while tidying their mess. He might even mutter a few uncomplimentary things about Ward under his breath – but honestly, it’s nothing she hasn’t heard before. 

(And quite frankly, he kind of deserves it.)

*

It is at Skye’s insistence that she and Ward get an appointment in Vault D, and will only allow Jemma and Rose to monitor them. 

(Coulson had wanted no part of it and given her a very firm set of instructions that everyone knew Skye was going to throw completely out the window as soon as they got down there. Skye tended to go _off book_ more than was strictly preferred – but it was one of the things that made her a good agent and so it was allowed to slide more often than not.)

So from a tiny screen up above the Vault and with warm cups of tea clutched in their hands, the girls watch. 

(Rose pretends not to notice the way Jemma’s fingers tap restlessly against the ceramic mug.)

*

“What are you trying to prove by doing this?”

They’d strolled down into the Vault with completely different attitudes; Skye, as though she was going to beat back her demons by sheer force of will (…so, nothing unusual for her) and Ward, with the smallest trace of trepidation masked beneath cool indifference. 

“C’mon, Ward. We both know that dart wasn’t your average tranquilizer.” She sprawls into the chair with the ease of someone who has all the time in the world to spare. “Now’s your chance to see if the new truth serum is really as good as predicted.” While Ward is assimilating this bit of information, Skye offers the piece dè resistance: “Jemma can’t get the last of it clean from my system.”

(Jemma Simmons stiffens in mute outrage from where she sits upstairs, glaring at the screen as if she could physically level it into silence.)

(…But she does not deny the admission.)

Ward goes absolutely still. When his eyes swing to meet hers, there is something unfathomable that she can’t read behind them. 

“You really think this something I want?” 

“I don’t know, Ward.” Skye folds her arms, challenge writ in the set of her bones. 

When he scoffs quietly and heads for the stairs, she calls out to him:

“I’m just trying to have an honest conversation for once.” 

Ward pauses from where he is poised to take the next step and watches Skye with darkly glittering eyes as she stands up and smirks at him. 

“Fine. Cameras _off_ ,” his voice is so low that she can barely make out the promise beneath the words. 

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) for all parties involved, they have always been very astute when it comes to reading between the lines. 

“Sure.” Skye taps at the tablet with precision before laying it down on the chair. “Now it’s just you and me.” 

*

When the screen abruptly goes black, Jemma inhales sharply and nods briskly to Rose. 

“Well. We’d best find a way to distract Coulson,” she worries her lower lip between teeth. “Probably we should get Fitz involved.”

Rose doesn’t know entirely what to make of whatever is going on between her brother and Skye – but she knows what it means when two people watch each other the way those two do. (The fact that they’d waited that long to kill the cameras means that she owes Lance five dollars.)

“Do you really think that’s the best idea?” Rose makes a face at the thought of Fitz acting as a cover in the scenario. 

Jemma tilts her head, considering. “No. But he is all we’ve got right now, so we’re going to have to make the best of it.” 

“Maybe he can teach me to blow something up,” Rose idly muses as they head out for the labs.

“Not another one,” Jemma mutters, casting a fond glance over her shoulder. 

*

Rose doesn’t see her brother for the rest of the day. 

Director Coulson has been short with nearly everyone, barking out orders and snapping at anyone who needs a job to do. Twice she’d caught the lab assistants trying to smuggle a message out to someone named May but they’d failed both times as the Director had swept into the lab at the exact moment and demanded to know what they were doing. (Did he have eyes in the back of his head?)

Fitz comes in just before Coulson is about to lose it, chattering excitedly with a set of blueprints in his hands. He makes a compelling argument, corralling a curious (if slightly unwilling) Director of SHIELD into a walking discussion that takes them out of the lab and (presumably) back to the office.

(Rose observes that Fitz is not the only one who has heart eyes when it comes to seeing raw intelligence in action.)

*

The next morning, Rose stumbles out of bed and absently notes that Skye’s bunk looks undisturbed. She smiles to herself and then decides it’s too early to be having those kinds of thoughts. She needs coffee. 

It’s a short walk to the kitchen but she hears the shouting before she’s even rounded the corner. She carefully steps inside but needn’t have bothered, the way these four are going at it. 

Skye is perched on the counter wearing something that looks suspiciously like the shirt Ward had on yesterday, swinging her legs with her head tipped back in laughter – while Fitz stares at them all grumpily with what appears to an entire bag of flour covering his front. 

Jemma is nearly curled _into_ herself she’s so hysterical and can hardly catch her breath, waving a hand at him and wiping the tears from under her eyes with the other. “If you could just – _see_ your face, Fitz, honestly –”

“I’ll have you know that this flour was _rigged_. And furthermore –” 

A sharp burst of laughter escapes Ward as he tries to remain composed, glancing at Skye. She leans forward, tugging on his arm until he is forced to stand bracketed inside her knees so that she can comfortably rest her chin on his shoulder. He tilts his head down as she whispers something in his ear and the smiles on their faces are _radiant_. 

Rose can’t remember the last time she saw her brother this happy. 

“Rose!” Jemma has recovered enough of her dignity to lift a cup in greeting. “Come and get some breakfast before these scavengers eat it all and leave you the scraps.” 

“We would _never_ ,” Ward protests, ruffling his sister’s hair as she passes by. Skye gives her a quick grin, letting her gaze stray to the can of whipped cream by the fridge. 

“So I guess everyone had a good night.” Rose carefully blanks out her expression and turns to prepare her coffee. 

They chime in with responses and she curls her hand around the can, casually thumbing off the cap. 

“It’s such a shame,” Rose sighs, turning slowly and resting her hands behind her back. 

“Rose…” Only Ward catches on to the slight waver in her voice and would have leaned forward to investigate but Skye’s legs tighten around his waist, firmly holding him in place. 

“That you’ll all have to _shower_ now!” Rose depresses the nozzle on the whipped cream, spraying wildly at the foursome and laughing delightedly. 

Only Skye makes it out relatively unscathed from where she is safely hidden behind Ward’s shoulders. 

“Nice,” Fitz complains, pointing at her. “Some people have all the luck.” 

“No,” Skye says, reaching to swipe a ribbon of whipped cream from Ward’s cheek and licking it from her finger. He makes a strangled noise of protest, which she promptly ignores. “But I did have someone really good watching my back.” 

There’s a beat of silence in the room until Jemma mutters, “If _that’s_ what we’re calling it these days.”

Ward pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. “My _sister_ is present so maybe we could _not_ discuss this right now?”

“You started it, Mr “ _Cameras Off_ ,” Skye playfully reminds, winking at Rose. 

“Oh, gross.” Fitz shoves at the cream starting to drip into his eyes. “We don’t need to hear about your nighttime activities, thanks very much.” 

“I wouldn’t necessarily confine it to _nighttime_ ,” Ward dryly responds, smirking at Jemma’s delighted shout and the way Skye bites down on his shoulder in warning. “Sorry, Rose,” he cuts his gaze over to her in delayed apology. 

“For what? That was quite possibly the worst case of UST I’ve ever seen,” Rose says, raising a brow. “Honestly I was beginning to think Thomas had more game than you.”

‘ _Thomas_?’ Fitz mouths at Jemma with wide eyes and she reaches for his hand and squeezes once, pleading with him to keep quiet as the two siblings antagonize each other.

“Fighting words, Rosie,” Ward growls, reaching for the discarded can of whipped cream and her at the same time. She tries to escape his reach but Skye had let go of him at the mention of Thomas (and was currently trying to pull up some info on her tablet) so she is easily captured and gets a heaping pile of whipped cream constructed on her head. 

“Say ‘Cheese’,” Skye recommends, aiming the tablet at her with a grin. 

The flash goes off brightly – and it is _almost_ a match for the blinding smile on Rose’s face. 

*

**Author's Note:**

> \+ [tumblr](http://b-isforbombshell.tumblr.com)  
> \+ WHAT HAVE I _DONE_???


End file.
